Railroad mail-bag catcher.



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RAILROAD MAIL BAG CATCHER.

(Application led 31m. 4, 1900.)

2 Sheets-Sheet l.

(No Model.)

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ns Co. PHoTo'LITHO.,wAsNmGTo-v u a Ne. 058,000. A l Patented sept. la, |000. J. KAISER.

RAILROAD MAIL BAG CATCHER [Application .filed Jan. 4, 1900.)

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

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iNrrEn STATES PATENT @Erica JOHN KAISER, OF SENECA FALLS, NEW YORK.

RAILROAD MAIL-BAG CATCHER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 658,066, dated September 18, 1900.

Application lednllanuary 4, 19Q0. v Serial No. 310. (No model.) d

To @ZZ whom, it may concern:

Beit known that I, JOHN KAISER, of' Seneca Falls, in the county of Seneca, in the State of New York, have invented new and useful Improvements in Railroad Mail-Bag Catchers, of which the following, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to improvementsin railroad mail-bag catchers.

I have observed that when mail-bag catchers are put in operation upon' a train going at a rapid rate, for the purpose of picking up mail-bags along the road,when the bag strikes the catching-arm theimpaet is so great as to often cause the bag to rebound sufficiently to drop out and become lost or be destroyed by being passed over by the cars; and-to the end of preventing such loss my object is to produce a mail-bag catcher which shall not only catch the bag, but lock it in the catcher until it has been released by the operator, and also provide means for unlocking the locking device when the gripping arm is turned down where the ,operator can handle it.

To the end, therefore, of producing a perfeet mail-bag catcher my invention consists in the several new and novel features of construction and Operation which are hereinafter described, and particularly set forth in the claims hereto annexed.

It is constructed as follows, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 shows a side view of a mail-bag catcher complete as it hangs in the car-door, except that the catching-arm is broken away, and showing a part of the handle in section, a portion of the body being broken away to show its ,interior construction and a section of the spring-socket by which tension is produced upon the locking-lever. Fig. 2A is a somewhat-similar View, showing the sleeve which Aforms the handle turned part way around for the purpose of unlocking it, so that it may be tilted. Fig. 3 is a similar view showing the handle partly tilted. Fig. 4 is a cross-section on line x w, Fig. 1.

Similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts.

A is a bracket having a longitudinal cenrotatingly mounted upon the shaft 2, the saidV shaft 2 supported transversely across the car- `door or other opening through which the mailbag catcher is operated. The body A is also n provided with a sprng=socket 3 and a rearwardly-extending arm 4, terminating in a socket 5, in which is mounted the catching-v arin, 7 being a thumb-screw for securing it rigidly therein. The upper edge ot' the body Ais provided with a post 8. The upper por; tion of the body A is also slotted longitudinally, and mounted therein is a rack-bar 9,- having at one end a downwardly-extending arm 10,` which arm is provided with a pin or lug 11.

Pivoted within the post 8 is a 12, the teeth 13- in its lower end adapted to engage with the teeth in the rack-bar 9, so that by tilting the pinion-lever 12 the rackbar 9 will move to and fro. Upon the pinion-lever 12 is a sleeve 14, which forms a h andle-'grip, its lower end having cams 15, and l6 is a spiral spring mounted upon the upper end of the pinion-lever 12 and within the sleeve 1&1 for the purpose of producing atension upon the said sleeve to normally hold it in the position shown in Fig. 1, in which the vertical wall 17 of the cam engages with the nut 18 and locks it from tilting.

Upon the lower forward edge of the bracket Ais a web Or arm 19, to which is pivoted alocking-lever 20, the said locking-lever having an upwardly-extending arm 21, adapted to engage with the pin or lug l1, a centrally upwardly-eXtending arm 22, adapted to travel in the socket 3, and a rear upwardly-extending arm 23. The arm 23 is slotted vertically,

` so as to receive the armdin its upward move- My invention is operated for the purpos l of catching the bag as the ordinary mail-bag 4catcher is operated, except that the bag 'first makes its impact against the lockingflever 22 and forces it up to the position shown in Fig. 3 and the bag to be gripped at its gathpi nien-lever IOO part way around until the cam rides upon the pin 18, as shown in Fig. 2. Then by tilting the handle and pinion-lever 12 to the right,

the rack-bar 9 is forced to the position as shown in Fig. 3, and this in turn engages with the arm 2l upon the locking-lever and forces it up to the position shown in Fig. 3, when` catching-arm, a rack-bar mounted in the the bag may be removed. As soon as the handle or grip is released the spring 16 forces the cam to ride back upon the pin 18, and it is again ready for another operation.

What I claim, and desire to secure by Lettels Patent, is-

` ing-arm, a rack-bar slidingly mounted in the bracket having one end adapted to engage with the spring-actuated lever, and means for operating said rack-bar, for the purpose of releasing the said lever.

3. Amail-bagcatcher comprisingabracket, suitably mounted for the purposes specied, a catching-arm secured thereto, a spring-ac- `adapted to engage with said rack-bar, for the purposes of operating the rack-bar and the bag-catcher, as set forth.

4. A mail-bag catcher comprising a bracket, adapted to be suitably mounted for the purposes in hand, a catching-arm secured theret0, a spring-actuated lever forming a lock to prevent the bag from bounding out of the bracket, one end of which rack-bar is adapted t0 engage with the lever, a pinion-lever pivoted to thebracket, the teeth of which are adapted to engage with the rack-bar, and means for locking said pinion-lever.

5. A mail-bag catcher comprisi n g a bracket, adapted to be suitably mounted for the purposes in hand, a catching-arm secured thereto, a spring-actuated lever forming a lock to Vprevent the bag from bounding out of the catching-arm, a rack-bar mounted in the bracket, one end of which rack-bar is adapted to engage with the'lever, a pinion-lever pivoted to the bracket, the teeth ot' which are adapted to engage with the rack-bar, and a spring-actuated sleeve mounted on said pinion-lever, having its lower end provided with cams, for the purposes of locking the pinionlever, as set forth.

In Witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 18th day of December, 1899.

JOHN KAISER. Witnesses:

E. J. FORBES, HORACE N. RUMsEY. 

